


Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

by isthatbloodonhisshirt (wasterella)



Series: Adara Birthday Celebration [25]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Library, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire (Teen Wolf), Books, Don’t copy to another site, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Idiots in Love, Librarian Stiles Stilinski, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Derek, Pining Derek Hale, Pining Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 00:29:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17193071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasterella/pseuds/isthatbloodonhisshirt
Summary: “Hi,” Stiles said jovially with a bright smile. “How can I help you?”For a few seconds, hot, sexy guy said nothing. He just stared at Stiles like he’d never seen another human being before. Eventually, after a sufficiently long and awkward silence, hot, sexy guy had said, “I’m looking for a book.”“Sure thing!” Stiles had then waited. Because—he worked in the public library, so someone coming in asking for a book was normal, butonlyasking for a book with no other details was alittletoo vague. “Um, I’m gonna need you to be alittle bitmore specific,” he’d informed him.“Right.” Hot, sexy guy had looked flustered, some of his murderous aura dissipating.





	Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [adara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adara/gifts).



> Happy Birthday [Adara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adara/pseuds/adara)!!!
> 
> Teen Wolf (c) Jeff Davis

Stiles remembered the first time he’d ever seen hot, sexy guy. He’d almost been late coming in, because he’d been on his phone with his dad and had knocked some guy off his feet. He’d been apologizing so much he’d forgotten about his dad on the phone and had been forced to backtrack in their conversation. He’d still made it to work on time, but just barely.

It was the beginning of his shift, and he was in the process of double-checking the overdue list from that morning since the new guy had been the one to look it over earlier, when a shadow loomed and he’d glanced up.

The guy on the other side of the podium had looked so adorably confused that Stiles wanted to jump over it and pinch his cheeks. But he also looked murderous at the same time, so it was best that he didn’t proceed in that fashion.

“Hi,” Stiles said jovially with a bright smile. “How can I help you?”

For a few seconds, hot, sexy guy said nothing. He just stared at Stiles like he’d never seen another human being before. Eventually, after a sufficiently long and awkward silence, hot, sexy guy had said, “I’m looking for a book.”

“Sure thing!” Stiles had then waited. Because—he worked in the public library, so someone coming in asking for a book was normal, but _only_ asking for a book with no other details was a _little_ too vague. “Um, I’m gonna need you to be a _little bit_ more specific,” he’d informed him.

“Right.” Hot, sexy guy had looked flustered, some of his murderous aura dissipating.

“Are you looking for something like, for a commute? Like a pleasure read? Or a project read? Is this research? Are you working on something?”

Apparently that was _far_  too many questions, because hot, sexy guy had stared at him before promptly leaving without a backward glance. Stiles hadn’t thought much of it at the time, he’d figured the guy might just have been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of books and hadn’t known how to ask for what he wanted.

Maybe he was anti-social. Maybe he had anxiety. Stiles didn’t know, he didn’t judge. He’d just shrugged while feeling a little bad about the exchange—maybe he could’ve done something better?—and then went back to checking over the list.

That was the first time Stiles had ever seen hot, sexy guy. The second time was three days later.

Stiles was on the second level, shelving books and scowling at the mess people always left behind. Someone had left an empty McDonalds cup on the shelf. Like, why? Why was that okay? Nothing about that was okay.

He shoved it into the bottom part of his cart and kept going, reshuffling the books on the shelves when he found them out of order. When he reached the end of the row, he needed the step-stool to get one shelf up—he could sort of reach it, but he’d sprained his arm once forcing it, so he thought it best not to.

He wandered through the shelves until he found the step-stool and then went back to his row when he paused.

Hot, sexy guy was beside his cart, looking at the numbers on the spine and then shelving the books exactly where they belonged. Stiles was so surprised he just stood there for a good ten seconds before snapping out of it and rushing forward with a smile.

“Hi,” he said cheerfully, setting the step-stool down.

Hot, sexy guy glanced at him briefly out of the corner of his eye, then muttered, “Hi.”

“You’re back.”

The guy turned to him, surprised. “You remember me?”

“It’s not every day someone walks into a library asking for a book. I mean, yes, they do, but usually they know what they’re looking for. I just got ‘book’ out of you.” Stiles smiled, watching the guy put the books away and wondering _why_  he was doing it.

He looked grumpy today. Or disappointed? Sad, maybe? Stiles didn’t know, he was a hard read.

“Can I help you find something?” he asked, mostly because he didn’t know what else to ask.

“I’m not looking for anything,” hot, sexy guy informed him, putting another book up on the higher shelf. “I got fired today.”

Stiles’ stomach bottomed out. “Shit, dude. I’m really sorry to hear that.”

“I’m not.” He half-shrugged. “I was hoping for it. I couldn’t quit, I wouldn’t get paid out if I did. So I just got myself fired instead.”

“Oh.” Stiles didn’t really know what to say to that. And he was _still_  shelving Stiles’ books. “Are you, uh, looking for a job then?”

“No,” he informed him, finishing with the ones in his hand and then grabbing a few more. Stiles wasn’t really sure what to do.

“So you’re not here for a book, and you’re not here for a job. What _are_  you here for?”

“Maybe I just wanted some company,” the guy informed him, moving two books around on the shelf and then adding one from his hand.

“That’d be a first,” Stiles said with a laugh, but he didn’t mind the company. It was Tuesday, and Tuesdays were always slow for some reason. He wouldn’t mind some company himself.

They shelved in comfortable silence for a few minutes, moving the cart around to the other side so they could continue. Stiles did the bottom shelves and hot, sexy guy did the top ones. He wasn’t much taller than Stiles, maybe three or four inches, but it just seemed polite for Stiles to do the bottom shelves.

When they were just about meeting in the middle, hot, sexy guy spoke again.

“I’m Derek.”

Which was good, because now Stiles could stop calling him hot, sexy guy in his head.

“Stiles,” he said with a bright smile.

That earned him a frown, Derek crossing his super muscular arms. “That’s not a real name,” he accused.

Stiles nodded, finishing with his last book for this stack and then pushing the cart to the next one. “You are correct, it’s not. It’s a nickname.” Stiles stopped and picked up another pile, checking the numbers and then moving to shelve them, glancing at Derek and winking. “You can’t pronounce my real name.”

“Try me.” Derek’s chin was raised, as if in challenge, and Stiles _almost_  laughed, because oh, he’d asked for it.

“Mieczyslaw.”

There was a long silence, Derek staring at him as if wondering if he was serious before deciding he was and nodding once. “Stiles it is.”

Stiles let out a laugh that would _probably_  get him in trouble if the manager was there due to its volume. Thankfully, the manager _wasn’t_  there and Stiles could get away with it.

“So, Derek who just got fired, what’s the plan now?” Stiles asked, the two of them continuing to shelve. “What do you do, anyway? Or, what _did_  you do?” He eyed him, taking in the tight black shirt, bulging muscles, and overall toned physique. “Gym instructor?”

“Business analyst.”

“Oh.” Stiles had no idea what that meant. “What, uh, do you do as a business analyst?”

“Mostly look at metrics and try and improve efficiency.”

“That literally means nothing to me, but let’s pretend I understood it and move on to what the next step is. Where can you get a job?”

“I’m not too worried about it right now.” Derek finished his stack and then leaned sideways against the shelves, watching Stiles work. “I got a good payout, so I’m not hurting for money. And I live in an apartment my parents own, so I don’t pay rent or anything. I’ve got time.”

“Man, you’re living the dream!” Stiles paused. “Barring the whole being fired thing, but I mean, you wanted to get fired, so it still counts, I guess.”

Derek let out a small laugh, crossing his arms and continuing to watch him. “I guess.”

Stiles just grinned and finished shelving all of his books. The cart was empty, so he went to return it to its usual location by the elevator, then went down the stairs with Derek in tow.

The new guy, Liam, was manning the front, but they’d pretty much done all the required jobs for the day so he was sitting playing some kind of game on his phone, clearly bored. There were only two other people in the library—one on the third floor using their restricted books, which weren’t allowed out of the library, and another studying in one of the back corners on the second floor.

And Derek, so technically three.

“Well, I don’t know much about business analysis, but I know a hell of a lot about books.” Stiles slapped him in the arm and motioned them back towards the stairs. “Come on, I’ll bring you to my favourite section, maybe you’ll find something of interest.”

“Sure.” Derek seemed like he was humouring him more than anything, but he followed along and they ended up talking books while Stiles pointed out his favourites in the science fiction section.

He really liked science fiction, there was so much that could be done with it. So many different stories that could be told and crazy adventures people could go on. Not to mention the superpowers.

They started going off on tangents about what superpowers they would want—super speed for Stiles, mostly so he could eat whatever he wanted, and invisibility for Derek, because he hated being stared at—as well as what kind of supernatural creature they would want to be—Magician a-la- _Harry Potter_ for Stiles, and Werewolf for Derek.

Derek was an interesting guy once Stiles got the layers peeled back. He seemed really surly and unhappy the two times he’d walked in, but as they spoke, Stiles realized he was actually really fun. He just didn’t know how to people, but was slowly getting more comfortable the longer he and Stiles spoke.

Eventually, Stiles had five books picked out for him, proclaiming, “You’re unemployed, you have time to read!”

Derek, for some reason, thought that was hilarious and had agreed to give them a try, following Stiles back downstairs.

It was discovered, upon reaching the checkout, that Derek didn’t have a library card. Stiles went about setting one up for him, getting his full name, valid address, and his phone number, jokingly saying, “The number was for me,” with a wink. Derek’s entire face fell and Stiles had to hastily backtrack and insist he was joking and that it was a requirement and even turned the screen around to show him the little asterisk.

Derek’s face still looked a little green while Stiles checked his books out, and he figured maybe he’d crossed a line. Stiles was pretty open about his sexuality—that being bisexual, because why deprive either sex of the awesomeness that _was_  Stiles Stilinski?—but he often forgot not everyone was tolerant. Derek obviously wasn’t into that, and now Stiles was a little disappointed.

He handed over the books and bid Derek a good evening. He nodded in thanks, then left the library, Stiles letting out a small, disappointed sigh before turning to Liam and telling him to get back to work since he was just smirking smarmily at Stiles like an asshole.

Whatever, Derek was _way_  too good looking for Stiles, anyway.

* * *

Stiles stood squinting at their ‘Recommended Reads’ wall, rubbing at his throat absently while inspecting all the titles. They hadn’t been changed in over a month, because apparently nobody who worked here read as much as Stiles did, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to replace anything. If he replaced any of the books that had been there for a long time, the whole wall would basically just be Stiles with a few here or there from the manager.

It made him feel a little pathetic, but it wasn’t his fault! He had a long commute, and he read _really_  fast. Like, lightning fast. Bart Allen fast. He could devour a four hundred page book in a few hours, so of _course_  his name was all over the wall!

But really, Hayden’s pick had to go. It had been there for over a month, and it was fucking _Twilight_. Stiles wasn’t having it. He could replace it with something else, he was sure. One of the _Percy Jackson_ books, maybe. Or hell, _Harry Potter_! It didn’t matter, literally _anything_  was better than _that_  garbage.

“You’re staring pretty hard.”

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” Stiles shouted, leaping about a foot sideways and feeling his heart hit the back of his throat. He pressed one hand to his chest, turning to see who was trying to murder him, and found Derek standing where Stiles had just been.

“You should be more quiet, this is a library, you know,” he said with a small smile, a tease in his tone. He had a plastic bag around his wrist, which appeared to hold the books he’d borrowed, and he was holding two take-out cups of coffee.

“Ha, you’re hilarious,” Stiles informed him, massaging his chest. “Thanks for that. I needed a jumpstart to my cardiovascular system. Good timing.”

Derek just let out another small laugh and turned back to the wall, reading over the titles. “You’ve got a lot on the wall.”

“I read a lot,” Stiles informed him, as if that weren’t already perfectly obvious.

“I haven’t even heard of most of these,” Derek said, moving forward. He set one of the coffees down, then picked up one of the books, flipping it over to read the back. “Which ones do you recommend out of all these? I need to replace the five you previously bullied me into taking home.”

“Didn’t like them?” Stiles asked, because it had only been two days. He couldn’t have read them that fast unless he was like Stiles.

“I did, I finished them.”

And apparently he _was_  like Stiles. Neat.

“Oh,” Stiles said, startled. It also occurred to him that Derek was still talking to him, so either he’d forgotten what Stiles had said, or he was choosing to ignore it. “I’m glad you liked them!”

“I never said I liked them.”

“Well if you’re back looking for more of my _amazing_  recommendations, you _obviously_  liked them,” Stiles insisted, moving up beside him and grinning.

Derek glanced at him, smiling slightly, and inclined his head. “Touche.” He set the one book back down and picked up the coffee he’d put on the shelf. He hesitated briefly, then held it out to Stiles. “Um, this is for you. Sorry, I didn’t—I wasn’t sure what you liked. It’s hot chocolate.”

“Oh,” Stiles said once more, staring down at the cup. “Thanks.” Not coffee, then. Which was fine, Stiles liked hot chocolate, too. “You didn’t have to get me anything. That’s really nice of you.”

“I wanted to. You were really nice to me last time.”

“Well, I’m glad I was able to help.” Stiles took a sip of the drink, pleased to find it wasn’t scaldingly hot anymore, and let out an appreciative hum. “This is delicious. Where is it from?”

“My sister’s bakery,” Derek said. “She’s a few blocks down, likes making people fat.”

“Sounds like my kind of girl,” Stiles said with a laugh, taking another large sip.

He noticed Derek look over at him sharply out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t say anything about it. He just moved up to the wall and picked up one of the books, turning to hold it out to Derek. “You should give this one a read. It’s really good. Oh! And you like Werewolves, right?” He didn’t even let Derek take the one he was holding out, he just immediately moved across to another book on the wall and snatched it down. “This one is _amazing_. Really realistic, super interesting, and kind of outside of the norm.”

“What about that one?” Derek asked, motioning another book that was clearly about Werewolves. The cover had a half-man, half-wolf picture, so it wasn’t hard to guess on the topic.

“Oh,” Stiles said, feeling awkward now. He shouldn’t have put that one on the wall. “That, um. Yeah, it’s good, but I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Why not?” Derek sounded confused, like he didn’t feel Stiles knew him well enough to make that determination.

“Uh...” Stiles shifted his weight awkwardly. He didn’t know how to be polite. “Well, it’s about Werewolves, yes, but uh... two guys. Two guys who are together and one is a Werewolf.”

“Okay,” Derek said, still staring at Stiles and waiting for him to explain why he wouldn’t like it. “And?”

Stiles didn’t know how to be clearer. “Um, there’s graphic sex in it.”

“So?”

“Between two guys.”

“And?”

Okay, now he was confused. “So... so are you okay? With that, I mean?”

“Gay sex?” Derek walked up to the book and picked it up, reading the back. “This book’s written by a man, so at least it’ll be accurate.” He was silent for a moment, reading over the back. “It sounds good. And if you’re recommending it, I’m sure I’ll like it.”

Stiles had totally misread the look from the other day. Maybe Derek had been annoyed because he thought Stiles was hitting on him and, with a face like that, it probably happened _all_  the time.

“It’s really good,” Stiles agreed, feeling like he’d been too judgey and wanting to make up for it. “You should, I mean, if you’re okay with that, totally give it a read. It’s first in a series of four, so if you like it, there are three more.”

“Nice.” Derek tucked it under one arm, then held that same hand out for the other two books Stiles had taken off the shelf. He handed them over, and Derek asked for help finding two more so he could have a solid five.

Stiles helped him out, joking about _Twilight_ , and Derek just gave him a look before pointing out a few of Stiles’ picks.

Once he had five, they went to the checkout, Stiles finishing up his hot chocolate and tossing the cup out while checking Derek’s books back in and swapping them out for the ones he was taking out. His cart was getting full again, so he figured once Derek was done he’d go shelve some books.

Except Derek didn’t leave. He got his books, put them in his bag, and then seemed to awkwardly stand there trying to make conversation. Stiles needed to get to work though so he motioned the cart and offered Derek to follow along if he wanted to keep chatting.

He seemed relieved and followed Stiles up to the second level in the elevator, but he kept glancing nervously towards the stairs once they walked through the rows of books.

“What if someone comes in?”

“There’s a bell at the podium, they can ring the bell,” Stiles explained while putting a book away.

“What if they come in, take a book, and leave?”

“It’s a library, if someone wants to steal from us, they’re probably desperate.” Stiles turned to shove him lightly in the shoulder. “Stop worrying so much, it’s fine.”

“Right.” Derek moved beside the cart, setting his bag of books and empty coffee cup on the bottom part, and then began to help Stiles re-shelve everything.

“Trying to take my job?” Stiles teased, because Derek was surprisingly good at it. Most people couldn’t follow the system, not that it was hard, but it just seemed to be too much work for them.

“I don’t think I’d last very long in a place like this,” Derek insisted with a small smile. “I think you need a certain personality for it.”

“Nah, you just need to like books.” Stiles put another book down. “So, how’s the job hunt going, anyway?”

“It’s not.” Derek sighed. “I got into a fight with my sister this morning about it.”

“Hot chocolate sister?” Stiles asked.

Derek shook his head. “Other sister. Hot chocolate sister is my younger sister. My older sister is more... well, she thinks she’s got my life laid out for me. She was pretty pissed I got fired, she helped me get the job where I was.”

“How come you got yourself fired?” Stiles asked curiously.

“One of the female VPs there was... I don’t know. It felt like harassment, but nobody believed me.” He let out a bitter laugh. “I’m a guy, after all. Can’t sexually harass a man.”

“I’m really sorry,” Stiles said quietly. “Your sister didn’t believe you either?”

“No, she did, but she thought I should’ve pushed harder instead of getting fired. I’ve been working there for eleven years, I guess she thought my word would’ve meant more and I just didn’t try hard enough to make them believe me.”

“She sounds like she’s just looking out for you. I think she probably didn’t want you to feel like you had to leave a job you liked because someone was making you unhappy. Now that you’re gone, it just lets her move on to someone else.”

Derek paused, turning to look at Stiles. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“I think, even though you got fired, you should still talk to the HR Department and explain what led to your termination. You could be helping someone else. I know it doesn’t do much for you, but I think you’d feel better knowing you stopped this VP from using her position to abuse men.”

Derek nodded, shelving a book. “Yeah. You’re right.” He smiled at Stiles. “Thanks Stiles.”

“No problem.” He grinned, then glanced at the stairs when the bell downstairs rang. “Be right back.”

He headed back to the first floor, checking someone’s books out with a smile and a cheery farewell, then went back upstairs. Derek had continued with the cart in his absence, and Stiles again insisted he was trying to steal his job.

They chatted a bit more while shelving books, and then Derek said he was going to head out, see if he could catch someone from HR at his old job to have a sitdown with them. Stiles wished him luck and watched him leave with his new bag of books, hoping he liked them and that the HR conversation went well.

* * *

Derek dropped in every now and then throughout the weeks that followed. He usually always came in with some kind of drink or pastry for Stiles, which was completely unnecessary, but very appreciated. He didn’t seem to have a very happy life, because he always had something unfortunate to mention whenever he came by.

At first, Stiles thought he was just an unlucky person, but as the days wore on, he started to wonder if maybe Derek had nobody to talk to, and whenever he had a bad day, maybe talking to the random librarian who recommended books to him was the best he could do. Maybe he specifically came in when he had a bad day, and that was why he never seemed to have any fun stories for Stiles.

Well, not _never_. He had some fun stories, too. He came in one of the days to say his family dog had just died—which had _crushed_  Stiles because no, puppies!—but had followed that dreadful conversation up with a passing comment about having a new job.

Stiles was happy for him, and was glad he still seemed to have time to come in and get new books and have a quick chat with the weird librarian guy. Derek insisted he wasn’t weird, which was nice of him, but Stiles knew he was definitely weird.

“Do you work every day?” Derek asked, holding a stack of books while Stiles climbed the short ladder to grab the recommended books off the top of the wall so he could replace them.

“Pretty much. Well, we’re closed on Sundays, so I don’t work then, and I get every other Wednesday off. Otherwise, I’m here. It’s not so bad, I really like my job, and I’m allowed to read when it’s slow.”

“That’s kind of cool.” Derek shifted his weight uncomfortably, letting Stiles add to the pile in his arms. “So uh, you work mornings? Or, how does that work?”

“I’m actually the afternoon shift lead. The library opens at six, so the morning shift lead comes in and gets everything sorted out. Depending on the day of the week, like if we have deliveries or overdue checks and whatnot, they open alone. Sometimes they open with a CSR. I usually work from nine to four, with the night shift lead coming in at two since they work until nine.”

“So you’re off at four, then?”

“Usually, yeah.” Stiles climbed back down the ladder, rubbing his hands on his pants. “Why?”

Derek opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Stiles raised his eyebrows, waiting, but Derek just muttered that his lunch break was over and he should head back. He put the stack of books down on the nearest table, bid Stiles a good day, and hustled it out of the library.

Stiles didn’t really have the heart to tell him it was Saturday and he very obviously wasn’t working.

Derek was a funny guy. Stiles didn’t know what to make of him, but he really liked him. He was nice, and interesting, and they had really fun conversations when they hung out together. Usually it was just when Derek dropped by during his lunch breaks or on the weekends, but still. They had a good time.

The few days that followed were particularly strange, though. Derek kept asking him questions about when he was off work, what days he was free, what kind of food he liked, but whenever Stiles asked him why, he made up an excuse to leave and then ran out of the library like his ass was on fire. It was all very confusing.

It was two weeks later on a rainy, dreary Thursday afternoon that someone of interest walked in. Stiles met all sorts of people working in the public library downtown, but this one was _particularly_  interesting because they walked right up to him at the podium and set down a hot chocolate, along with a ham and Swiss baguette sandwich.

“So,” they said with a slow once over and a grin, “ _you’re_  hot library guy.”

Stiles blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I mean, I guess other guys must work here, but I walk by a lot and you’re the hottest one I’ve seen so far. I mean, I’d do you, but I’m a good person, so finders keepers and all that.”

Stiles kept staring. “What?” He had no idea what this girl was talking about.

“Look,” she said with a sigh, leaning against the counter and pointedly looking at the drink and food that was _clearly_  for him, “he’s too shy. He’s never gonna ask you. He’s positive you’re gonna say no, and honestly, I’m tired of listening to him whine. To his credit, you _are_  too hot for him, but I’m biassed because I have to think he’s gross. He’s my brother, I can’t find him attractive.”

“I’m sorry,” Stiles said, shaking his head. “Am I meant to know what you’re talking about?”

“How can you not?” She cocked an eyebrow and pointedly looked down at the drink and food again. “Look familiar?”

“Yes?” Stiles asked uncertainly, because he _did_  recognize it. Derek always brought stuff in from that bakery because it was the one his sister owne—oh! _Oh_! “You’re Derek’s sister!”

“Ding ding,” she said with a smile, pushing the items closer. “This is for you, courtesy of me. I wanted to drop in and meet hot library guy.”

That was when Stiles finally caught up to the whole conversation and he started, motioning himself in confusion. “Wait, _I’m_  hot library guy?!”

“Well, you’re the one working in the library, so I’d assume he’s talking about you.”

“But... what?” Stiles asked, completely floored. Derek was _gorgeous_ , and funny, and so, so nice. What could he _possibly_  see in Stiles?!

“Okay, here’s the thing,” the girl said with a kind smile, rearranging the sandwich on the counter. “My brother had a bad day a few months back. Like, a really bad day. Shit happened at work, and he went out to clear his head. And while he was out, he bumped into this guy. The guy was on his phone, and he was loud and energetic, but he was super apologetic about bumping into him and then continued on his merry way while on the phone.”

Stiles watched her while she continued to play with the sandwich and eventually just took it off the counter so she’d stop and keep going with her story.

“Sorry, I have attention issues,” she said with a laugh. “I’m Cora, by the way.”

“Stiles. You were telling me about phone guy?”

“Right! Phone guy. So anyway, Derek was all mopey after bumping into that guy, but something about his energy and the sincerity of his apology resonated with him, and he ended up kind of following him. Not in like, a creepy way, but more in a... he had positive energy and my brother was super down in the dumps so he was kind of feeling better being close to this giant ball of sunshine.”

“Okay,” Stiles said slowly.

“Anyway, the ball of sunshine hung up his phone and walked into the library, so Derek kind of hung out outside for a bit to see if he’d come back out. Not sure what that coward thought he was gonna do, because he definitely wouldn’t _talk_  to him, but I guess a lot of time passed and he figured the guy wasn’t going to come out any time soon so like a creeper, he walked into the library. And lo and behold, he was behind the podium. Energetic phone guy turned ball of sunshine turned hot library guy.” She did the jazz hands in Stiles’ direction with a smile on her face.

Stiles just stared at her, because what? So Derek had been having a bad day, and he’d bumped into Stiles, who was so happy and energetic he’d accidentally followed him to work and then had started dropping in to chat with him?

He didn’t know if that was creepy or sad. Then again, not really creepy. Derek had probably been having a bad day because of that VP, since he’d still been working there the first time Stiles had met him. He’d probably just been trying to find a reprieve and had accidentally found one in Stiles.

And they’d been having a lot of fun lately. They talked all the time, and Derek had the same taste in books as he did. And he was just so freaking _nice_!

Though Cora’s words explained why Derek had been acting weird lately. “Wait, he wants to go on a date?”

“So bad, it’s kind of nauseating.” Cora shrugged. “He keeps chickening out, figures you’ll say no.” She eyed him suspiciously. “Would you say no?”

“No!” Stiles paused, realizing that was a little unclear. “I mean, like, if he asked, I wouldn’t say no. I’d definitely say yes.”

“Good.” She beamed at him. “Then do our whole family a favour and just ask him out before he spontaneously combusts trying to ask you himself. Seriously, if you wait for him to ask, you’ll be waiting until hell freez—”

“Cora!”

They both jumped and the girl turned, Derek hurrying into the library looking crossed between pissed off and concerned. He was a little wet from the rain outside, but that somehow made him look even _more_  attractive than usual.

Stiles was a firm believer of things looking better when they were wet, and boy did Derek fit that to a tee.

“Hi Der-Bear. I was just leaving.” She turned to Stiles and winked. “Bye hot library guy.”

“Oh my God, I’m literally going to murder you,” Derek said angrily while she walked past him. She just grinned and left the library.

Derek turned back to Stiles and for a second, it looked like he was going to make a break for it. Stiles saw that he was holding a takeout bag, likely his lunch since he usually dropped by during his lunch break, and hastily stopped him from bolting.

“I have food!” He held up the baguette. “Your sister brought me food. Why don’t we go sit over there and eat together?”

Derek didn’t look like he wanted to, he looked like he wanted to run, but Stiles just picked the drink up as well and motioned for Derek to follow him. He did, reluctantly, shoulders sagging a little. They sat down at one of the tables on the ground floor. It was mostly used for people doing group work, and while they couldn’t technically eat in the library, it was dead right now and the manager loved Stiles so he often broke the no-eating rule.

Stiles unwrapped the baguette and Derek pulled his own sandwich out of the takeout bag. It wasn’t from his sister’s bakery, but it looked just as good. He took a bite out of it, staring down at his food instead of at Stiles.

“Sorry about my sister,” Derek muttered after a few moments of silence.

“She seems nice. She brought me food, so that’s cool.” Stiles laughed a little, then licked his lips. He wasn’t sure if he should bring up the conversation they had, but Derek beat him to it.

“I swear I’m not creepy,” he blurted out, scowling angrily, as if unhappy with how he’d delivered his thought. “I just... that day was bad. Really bad. I was having a hard time, and I just needed an escape. And you were just... _there_. You were bright and happy and I just felt... really good. Being around you felt nice. I didn’t exactly mean to follow you, but even when I walked in and you smiled at me like you did, I just felt so much _better_. And when I got fired, I didn’t know where to go, what to do, and I passed the library, and you were there again. I wasn’t being creepy, and I’m not stalking you or anything, I swear.”

“You didn’t know my name, you’d be a pretty terrible stalker,” Stiles said with a small laugh. “It’s fine, Derek. You were in a rough headspace, and someone you didn’t know helped. That’s not a bad thing.” He picked at the edge of his baguette with his free hand, eyes still on Derek’s face. “Is that why you kept coming back when you had bad days?”

Derek nodded, still avoiding his eye. “You make everything seem so _easy_. I really like talking to you.”

“I like talking to you, too.” Stiles smiled. “We have a lot in common.”

It occurred to Stiles that every bad or weird reaction Derek had ever given him was related to this. He liked Stiles, but he was shy and awkward, so whenever Stiles joked about anything like his phone number, Derek got all flustered and that came across as standoffish. Now he felt kind of bad for making him all awkward and uncomfortable.

“I’d really like to continue coming by,” Derek said quietly. “I like spending time with you.”

“How about we make a deal?” Stiles asked. Derek frowned, but nodded slowly. “How about we hang out when I’m _not_  working? I’m off at four today, what if we met up here around, say, six? We can go catch the new _Spider-Man_ movie, maybe grab a bite to eat.”

Derek stared at him for a long while. “Like a date?”

“Yeah, like a date.”

There was a long pause. “You’re not just doing this because my sister said something, are you?”

“I am _definitely_  not doing this because your sister said something. I had no idea you were interested in me. I’ve been interested since you walked in asking me for a book.” Stiles grinned. “So, dinner and a movie? Six?”

The smile that crossed Derek’s face then could’ve split it wide open. “Sounds great.”

“Awesome. Now hurry up and eat, your lunch break’s almost over.”

Derek obediently scarfed down the rest of his food, then waved goodbye and promised he’d be back around six. Stiles smiled at his retreating form, then went to the front to call the night shift lead so he could ask to leave early.

Stiles had a date, and he _definitely_  needed time to get home, shower, change, and come back. Derek was totally worth the double commute.

And to think, this had all started because Stiles couldn’t watch where he was going.

It paid to bump into strangers.

**END.**

**Author's Note:**

> Harry Potter (c) J.K. Rowling  
> Bart Allen (c) DC  
> Twilight (c) Stephenie Meyer  
> Percy Jackson (c) Rick Riordan  
> Spider-Man (c) Marvel
> 
> Come chill with me on [Tumblr](https://isthatbloodonhisshirt.tumblr.com/).  
> (If it still exists by the time you read this lol)


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